norquist -- they did not pledge to work for the people. guest: that is a limiting factor in the negotiations, many republicans in the house and senate who signed a pledge not to increase taxes. it does hem them in in a certain way and it is something they all try to work out now. he reported this morning, at talks under way to come up with alternatives to allow them to at least nominally remained true to the pledge while still getting a tax revenues. it is something we have seen a lot of movement on in the past week or week and i have so i believe there is some optimism there. also, there are some similar limiting factor -- not written pledges, per say -- on the democratic side where there is intense lobbying to protect things like social security and medicare in the ongoing talks. both sides do have their limitations. but the pledge is certainly something has the which is very thehemmed in the republicans. host: the piece you are referring to is from "the new york times" -- seeking ways to raise taxes while leaving tax rates as is. those